UK to abolish code test on Friday
 

Subject: UK to abolish code test on Friday

All these new threads on Morse code. They should be under a few topics, not a
seperate topic on any new Morse code news.

Its fragmenting the newsgroup, making it very hard to read.

WAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Respectfully, STFU!

Would you like some cheese with your whine?




Vshah101 wrote:

Subject: UK to abolish code test on Friday

All these new threads on Morse code. They should be under a few topics, not a
seperate topic on any new Morse code news.

Its fragmenting the newsgroup, making it very hard to read.

"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...
There have been lot of different rumours floating about, but it now looks
definite that the UK will scrap the code test on Friday. This will be the
second country after Switzerland, which already did it.

It looks as if quite a few countries will wait until after the CEPT
meeting, which turns out to be in September (I had thought it was earlier
than that).

73 de Alun, N3KIP (G8VUK, G0VUK)

Here's the details from a friend with RSGB access:

Here's a quote from the members only page of the RSGB's website:


The RSGB is pleased to announce that, with effect from Friday the 25th of
July, there is no longer a requirement to have passed a Morse code test in
order to operate on the HF bands in the UK. All Full and Intermediate Class
B licensees are therefore automatically granted their respective Class A
operating privileges and may operate on the HF bands using their existing
callsigns from the 25th of July. Class B licensees need not take any action
to obtain these additional operating privileges.

This long-awaited move comes about following the decision taken at the
recent World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva, which agreed that a
Morse code test should no longer be an international requirement in order to
hold an HF amateur licence. The Radiocommunications Agency is to be thanked
for moving quickly in introducing this change in the UK. The official
'Gazette Notice' to bring in the change in the UK is scheduled to be
published on the 25th of July.

A series of 'Frequently Asked Questions' and answers about these changes
will be published on the RSGB website. Please note that these changes do not
affect Foundation Licensees.

The RSGB welcomes all former Class B amateurs on to the HF bands and hopes
that they will obtain even greater enjoyment from their hobby.


So the Brits have to honour of being the first to actually scrap Morse
testing (the Swiss have been granted "provision" access)

Cheers,
Bill K2UNK

Vshah101 wrote:

Subject: UK to abolish code test on Friday

All these new threads on Morse code. They should be under a few topics, not a
seperate topic on any new Morse code news.

Its fragmenting the newsgroup, making it very hard to read.

You're still having a problem with hams not doing what you think they
should be doing. If you don't like an existing thread, don't read it.
Feel happy to start your own.

Dave K8MN

"Tom Bonet" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 12:15:50 -0400, Bill Sohl
wrote:

So the Brits have to honour of being the first to actually scrap Morse
testing (the Swiss have been granted "provision" access)


Bwa HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The Morse code whiners will have to go
sit in a corner somewhere and mumble things about "real hams" while
the rest of us show up on "their" frequencies. I can't wait to
operate USB on 3.510 MHz.

The hazing ritual has been eliminated in the UK and soon the US will
follow suit. Bye bye CW elitists!

Even though most European nations don't have mandated subbands like the US,
it is still considered poor operating practice to disregard the voluntary
band plans. So please operate voice on the higher end of the band and use
the standard LSB that is the accepted norm.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

In article , (Tom Bonet) writes:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 12:15:50 -0400, Bill Sohl
wrote:

So the Brits have to honour of being the first to actually scrap Morse
testing (the Swiss have been granted "provision" access)


Bwa HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The Morse code whiners will have to go
sit in a corner somewhere and mumble things about "real hams" while
the rest of us show up on "their" frequencies. I can't wait to
operate USB on 3.510 MHz.

The hazing ritual has been eliminated in the UK and soon the US will
follow suit. Bye bye CW elitists!


LCD Troll-O-Meter:

||||||||||
1 3 5 7 9 +10 +20 +40

73 de Larry, K3LT

On 24 Jul 2003 19:26:45 GMT, (Tom Bonet) wrote:

Bwa HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The Morse code whiners will have to go
sit in a corner somewhere and mumble things about "real hams" while
the rest of us show up on "their" frequencies. I can't wait to
operate USB on 3.510 MHz.

The hazing ritual has been eliminated in the UK and soon the US will
follow suit. Bye bye CW elitists!

This is the reason that the morse code requirement that has been pushed by the
ARRL for the last twenty years will destroy it. All the no code techs and ham
newcomers will never join the ARRL when they get their HF privileges.


--
The Radio Page Ham, Police Scanner, Shortwave and more.
http://www.kilowatt-radio.org/

"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...
There have been lot of different rumours floating about, but it now looks
definite that the UK will scrap the code test on Friday. This will be the
second country after Switzerland, which already did it.

Actually the UK are making CW mandatory. All new amateurs from Dec 2003 will
have to enter the hobby as foundation class, which requires a morse assessment
which satisfies the pre WRC03 morse requirement (which never state a speed in
wpm). The morse assessment requires the candidate to send a CW passage at any
speed and to ask the assessor to slow down theoretically to 12 words per hour if
necessary. It's also an "open book exam" i.e. they have access to a morse code
table -.-. = C etc.

So far from abolishing the morse requirement - all new UK amateurs from Dec 2003
will have to sit the morse assessment at the lowest entry level. This does not
apply to all former above 30Mhz (class B, CEPT class 2) who will get HF tomorrow
(26th July 2003) without doing the morse assessment.

Why Dec 2003? well that is the next date for the Radio Amateurs Exam (scheduled
twice a year - May and Dec) which allows you to go straight to Full (extra
class) by sitting just one exam. After this "last" exam date (Dec 2004) all UK
amateurs will have to sit three exams (and the morse assessment) to go
Foundation Class then Intermediate (was Novice) then Full. Also after Dec 2004
the RAE will be no longer scheduled just twice a year but go "on-demand" and
will be administrated by the Radio Society of Great Britain not the "City and
Guilds" (a body responsible for NVQs across the UK) as before.

This guarantees that CW is never "forgotten" at least in the UK. As to be
expected from the UK authorities a very diplomatic outcome.

It is expected that CEPT will merge Class 1 and 2 in September, up until then
the issue of reciprocal licences is a pretty grey area. So those amateurs with
HF access in the uk from passing a 5wpm or not even taking a morse test will be
refused to operate HF in countries which still have the 12wpm test requirement.


--
73 de G1LVN
Gateway details at: www.g1lvn.org.uk
(change "mycallsign" to reply by email)
send spam to

"Gareth \(G1LVN\)" wrote in
:

"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...
There have been lot of different rumours floating about, but it now
looks definite that the UK will scrap the code test on Friday. This
will be the second country after Switzerland, which already did it.

Actually the UK are making CW mandatory. All new amateurs from Dec 2003
will have to enter the hobby as foundation class, which requires a
morse assessment which satisfies the pre WRC03 morse requirement (which
never state a speed in wpm). The morse assessment requires the
candidate to send a CW passage at any speed and to ask the assessor to
slow down theoretically to 12 words per hour if necessary. It's also an
"open book exam" i.e. they have access to a morse code table -.-. = C
etc.

So far from abolishing the morse requirement - all new UK amateurs from
Dec 2003 will have to sit the morse assessment at the lowest entry
level. This does not apply to all former above 30Mhz (class B, CEPT
class 2) who will get HF tomorrow (26th July 2003) without doing the
morse assessment.

Why Dec 2003? well that is the next date for the Radio Amateurs Exam
(scheduled twice a year - May and Dec) which allows you to go straight
to Full (extra class) by sitting just one exam. After this "last" exam
date (Dec 2004) all UK amateurs will have to sit three exams (and the
morse assessment) to go Foundation Class then Intermediate (was Novice)
then Full. Also after Dec 2004 the RAE will be no longer scheduled just
twice a year but go "on-demand" and will be administrated by the Radio
Society of Great Britain not the "City and Guilds" (a body responsible
for NVQs across the UK) as before.

This guarantees that CW is never "forgotten" at least in the UK. As to
be expected from the UK authorities a very diplomatic outcome.

It is expected that CEPT will merge Class 1 and 2 in September, up
until then the issue of reciprocal licences is a pretty grey area. So
those amateurs with HF access in the uk from passing a 5wpm or not even
taking a morse test will be refused to operate HF in countries which
still have the 12wpm test requirement.


--
73 de G1LVN
Gateway details at: www.g1lvn.org.uk
(change "mycallsign" to reply by email)
send spam to




I knew all that Gareth, but of course most people on here won't.

73 de Alun, N3KIP

PS: I held both G8VUK (from passing the RAE) and G0VUK (obtained under the
reciprocal agreement), but they have both lapsed. I intend to get G8VUK
re-issued to me, but I am wondering whether to wait until the CEPT merge
Class 1 and Class 2 (probably in September, as you say). I don't want to
be G0VUK, particularly. I want to operate in Spain and in the Republic of
Ireland with my FT-817 at some point (the UK as well, but obviously that's
no problem).

BTW, as a British citizen my US licence entitles me to zero reciprocal
privileges under CEPT, and isn't even valid in Canada under the bilateral
agreement (albeit Industry Canada told me they don't care and I should
just operate anyway as they wouldn't enforce the rules!).

"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...

PS: I held both G8VUK (from passing the RAE) and G0VUK (obtained under the
reciprocal agreement), but they have both lapsed. I intend to get G8VUK
re-issued to me, but I am wondering whether to wait until the CEPT merge
Class 1 and Class 2 (probably in September, as you say). I don't want to
be G0VUK, particularly. I want to operate in Spain and in the Republic of
Ireland with my FT-817 at some point (the UK as well, but obviously that's
no problem).


don't hold your breath on Spain. We've got a holiday home there and they have
some very odd rules. e.g. no foreigners allowed on 6m even if they have a
reciprocal, plus all the usual queuing at one office which is only open on
Tuesday between 10 and 12:30. Then being told you need another piece of paper
from the police station in another town etc etc etc. Biggest problem I have
right now is our house didn't have an address !!! (which is quite common). It
has one now - roughly translated as "Plot B outside town" Still love the culture
though, quite charming really.

Sure you'll be able to get G8 but law says you cannot hold two licences of the
same class so you'll have to lose the G0. Although you can pass it on to a
living relative - son, daughter, wife? Or will it to anyone after you die.

"Alun Palmer" wrote in message
...
Keith wrote in
:

just completed my first 20m stateside QSO...

.... with W1EVT logged between 0011 and 0018 UTC. I was 579 (40 watts into a
quarterwave vertical) he was 599, his name was Clem, his QTH Boston......

and the mode? - A1A (CW) of course at about 14wpm, not bad for a "no-coder"


--
73 de G1LVN
Gateway details at: www.g1lvn.org.uk
(change "mycallsign" to reply by email)
send spam to

On 25 Jul 2003 15:20:23 GMT, Alun Palmer wrote:

BTW, as a British citizen my US licence entitles me to zero reciprocal
privileges under CEPT, and isn't even valid in Canada under the bilateral
agreement (albeit Industry Canada told me they don't care and I should
just operate anyway as they wouldn't enforce the rules!).

Until you screw something up royally and then watch them.....

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

"Phil Kane" wrote in
.net:

On 25 Jul 2003 15:20:23 GMT, Alun Palmer wrote:

BTW, as a British citizen my US licence entitles me to zero reciprocal
privileges under CEPT, and isn't even valid in Canada under the
bilateral
agreement (albeit Industry Canada told me they don't care and I should
just operate anyway as they wouldn't enforce the rules!).

Until you screw something up royally and then watch them.....

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon




That is highly unlikely (that I would screw up royally). However, I did
wonder about the wisdom of relying upon the words of just one Industry
Canada employee.